Holiday shows are steeped in tradition

Like warm hearths and dinner tables heaped with food, local theaters are places where families come together in December to hear the twicetold tales, revisit memories and get into the spirit of the holidays.

With this year’s early Thanksgiving, Christmas may yet seem a long way off. But judging by the wave of holiday shows rolling into theaters this weekend, the “most wonderful time of the year” has already arrived.

Traditions are serious business for local theater and dance companies, and once taken hold, they tend to last. Ballet Memphis’ annual

ballet, 25 years and counting, runs through Sunday at the Orpheum theater. A cast of more than a hundred people dances the

7 p.m. at St. Peter Catholic Church, 190 Adams. Free. Go to memphismenschorale.org.

NOV. 30 - DEC. 16 Germantown Community Theatre’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”:

7 p.m. WednesdaysSaturdays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; 3037 Forest Hill-Irene Road. Tickets: $21 adults, $15 seniors and students, $10 kids 12 and under. Call 901937-3023 or gctcomeplay.org.

NOV. 30 - DEC. 2 Ballet Memphis’ “Nutcracker”:

7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Orpheum theater, 203 South Main. Tickets: $10, $22, $43 and $72. Call 901-737-7322 or go to balletmemphis.org.

NOV. 30 - DEC. 23 Balmoral Chamber Orchestra’s Food for Memphis Concert:

7:30 p.m. at Balmoral Presbyterian Church, 6413 Quince. Donation requested. Call 901-7677510.

Wolf River Singers Holiday Concert:

7:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 8151 Poplar. $12.50. Go to wolfriversingers.org.

DEC. 2 DeltaCappella annual Christmas Show with guests RSVP Chorus:

3:30 p.m. at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, 1801 Exeter. Tickets: $20. Call 901-7517500 or go to gpacweb.com.

Wolf River Singers Holiday Concert:

3 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 8151 Poplar. $12.50. Go to wolfriversingers.org.

DEC. 6 - 16